The Face Under The Mask
by twilitprincess
Summary: An excerpt from MASQUERADE. Skull Kid is used to being on his own, but one day, he meets a green-clad boy in the woods...


**This is a flashback I wrote for my sister's story MASQUERADE which is going to be a really awesome and epic novelization of sorts of Majora's Mask. I would highly recommend you read it-I promise that it won't disappoint nor be like other attempts at Majora's Mask stories. I'm editing and writing bits of it, including this flashback, which is going to be in one of the chapters.**

**There's tons of planning going into it. Every *interesting* character possible is going to be included, it has explanations for many of the mysteries, and it has a nice mix of suspense, humor, all that good stuff and maybe just a touch of romance. **

**Definitely read it! And make sure to review! It's MASQUERADE by Alexann42.**

**The Face Under The Mask**

Skull Kid spent his days playing his flute. He had grown accustomed to being alone, and had accepted the fact that friends were a temporary sort of thing. If one has friends, they can only expect to lose them at some point. But he was okay now. He had his flute, his freedom…he could go anywhere he wanted! And the Lost Woods provided an endless adventure.

One day, Skull Kid discovered a clearing within the woods. It was dark, a perfect hideout, with soft grass that felt nice to walk on. At the center of the clearing were two stumps, one higher than the other. Shafts of sunlight filtered through the dense canopy above, casting their glow onto the stumps. It was as if someone had designed a stage, just for him!

With a cry of delight, the imp scrambled up onto the taller of the stumps, and then stood there admiring the view. He lifted his flute to his face and began to play a song he had learned a long time again, in some forgotten part of his past. He imagined the forest to be teeming with spectators, animals of every kind he could think of. All of them were here to see him and gave a tremendous applause at the end of his song. He lowered his instrument and took three deep bows.

Then the other stump caught his eye. It had a spotlight on it too, but no one was standing there. Once Skull Kid was sure every last audience member was gone, he pranced over to the stump and glared at it. Why did it have to be there? He was the star of the show—so why did the spotlight have to be on this stump when it was obviously empty? Feeling frustrated, Skull Kid clocked it with his flute, as if to teach it a lesson. Then he left to go find something else to do.

Every day after that, Skull Kid would go on his normal adventures, but at the end of the day, he would return to his stump, back by popular demand. And he would play his song for them and then the wolfos, the keatons, the cucoos, and everyone else would applaud him. And then they would fade away and he would be alone once more.

One day, everything changed.

Skull Kid stood on his tall stump, dancing around as he played that same melody. As he twirled, the feeling that he was not alone suddenly stole over him and he froze. It was then he saw the intruder. A blonde, green clothed boy, who nearly blended in with the forest around him, was standing in his clearing.

"Hi!" The boy said cheerfully, "Where did you learn that song? I've heard it before! It's Saria's Song!"

Skull Kid didn't respond, just stared. The flute was shaking in his hands. He was scared and excited all at once. He was bursting with the need to speak to this newcomer, but he hadn't spoken for so long—he wasn't sure if he could or not.

"What's your name? Are you friends with Saria?" The child asked, walking towards him.

In a moment of panic, Skull Kid turned and leaped off the back of the stump. Then he darted forward and immersed himself in the greenery surrounding the clearing.

"Hey! He left!" Came a new, high-pitched voice. "Well, we'd better get going, Link. We can't stay here."

Skull Kid peered through ferns he was hiding in. A ball of light was bobbing around the boy's head! A feeling of nostalgia washed over the imp. A memory that had been buried in the recesses of his mind surfaced. Armi! This boy was from the forest and he had a fairy just like Skull Kid used to have!

"You're right, Navi." The boy…Link…said, sounding disappointed. They turned to leave.

Skull Kid cried out, upset that these newcomers would leave so soon, and went rushing from his hiding spot. He climbed right to the top of his stump and stood there, shaking. The boy and the fairy just stared at him. He proceeded to lift his flute to his face and played the melody, apparently called Saria's Song, for them.

Link smiled and stepped up onto the other log, under the twin spotlight. He pulled out a little blue instrument and proceeded to play it along with him. Happiness welled up inside Skull Kid. Finally, the other spotlight was filled! The imp danced with joy, reveling in the moment as the playful song echoed around him.

When they were done, they lowered their instruments, wearing matching grins.

"You know Saria's Song!" Link declared happily.

"I hear it playing in the forest all the time, so I tried learning it." Skull Kid said in a rattling voice, "We…" He paused and cleared his throat. "We should be friends!" He managed to say, eyes bright. He knew he had sworn to himself that he would only lose any friends he made, but it didn't matter. It had been wonderful to share this moment with someone else. He wanted to become good friends with the boy that had a fairy!

"Okay!" Link agreed. "What's your name?"

"Um…Skull Kid." The imp told him, feeling a twinge of regret that he could not remember his true name.

"I'm Link. Here, Skull kid!" Link pulled out what looked like the head of skeleton, but it was only a mask. "I've been helping out this one guy by giving out masks. It makes people happy! Would you like one?"

Skull Kid hopped down from his stump and inched forward, looking at the mask with wide eyes. Link put it on his own face as if to display it properly. Skull Kid laughed. It was so cool looking!

"Heehee! I like it!" The imp said happily, and the Kokiri handed it to him. "It may make me look a bit tougher." Skull Kid brought it up to his face and put it on. A perfect fit! "Yowza!" He shouted gleefully, doing a little dance, "I'm gonna wear this all the time!" He felt like a whole different person with this mask on. He felt powerful!

"Link…" The fairy, Navi, reminded him, "We should go…"

"Oh, okay. Sorry Navi." Link apologized, then looked at his friend. "I'll see you later, okay?" Then he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Skull Kid wailed, "Will you come back and play with me?"

"Of course!" Link called back, "We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah!" Skull Kid beamed. He stood there watching Link go until he had disappeared among the trees. Then he got back up onto his stump and sat there, admiring his new face.

That night, he played a different game. He told his imaginary audience how he had met his new friend, Link. He showed them the mask and said how Link gave it to him so he could be happy. He told them how Link knew Saria's Song too, and that he would come back every day to play it with him from now on.

But Link never came back. Eventually, Skull Kid left the Lost Woods, leaving behind the mask, since it no longer made him happy. He was sad, but only for a little while.

He had accepted the fact that friends were only a temporary sort of thing.


End file.
